Lean manufacturing requires a “mindset” to actually get to the point where lean manufacturing is the “real” thing. The entire company is influenced by the thinking and feeling that top management has about the business as it relates to customers. All the resources of a business have to be part of the lean “mindset”. The lean manufacturing company gets to be that way because it is a “way of life” for the business. The approach of management toward the operation of a business is the result of how management “feels” about the business. The “mindset” of upper management influences the way that subordinates are treated and influenced by upper management. That “mindset” continues to flow down through the company, influencing all levels of workers. Even as the philosophy of being a lean company goes through the levels of a company, effective management still responds to the input of its subordinates. If management is of the mind to make the company a lean organization, then that “feeling” should permeate the entire company. Part of this lean way of life is the notion that no products should be manufactured unless they have been ordered by customers. No manufacturing occurs just to fill up warehouses.
The lean philosophy goes hand in hand with the automation of a manufacturing facility. If the company philosophy is to implement and manage truly optimized automation, then there will only be products created that are to ship to customers or be part of other products that are created to be shipped. This can be done because the operation is lean, not misusing resources, and can meet customer demands with effective production scheduling and manufacturing automation. The only way for a company to be a lean operation is if all the employees “practice” their jobs with the lean philosophy. All aspects of production in a lean organization have been optimized to utilize as few resources as possible to get the job done. The company philosophy about being lean comes from the top of the organization and goes all the way to the bottom.
thanks
Keep up the excelent work, bookmarked and referred a few mates.